Aubrey Plaza - interview with Matt Patches

With hard work and dedication, even you or I could become a showbiz success.

Being really funny doesn't hurt either. That's the lesson I've learned from Aubrey Plaza, an actress I had a chance to work with in film school who recently blew up with her role in Judd Apatow's Funny People. I spoke with Aubrey about her recent rise to fame, touching on Funny People and the highly anticipated Scott Pilgrim vs. the World where she plays Julie Powers, the on-again/off-again girlfriend of Scott's bandmate.

Finally, I can fufill my dream of being a name dropper!



Matt Patches: How did you end up working on small comedy projects with schmoes like me, to hot tailing it out of New York and starring in Funny People?

Aubrey Plaza: Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that out...I don't know how it happened. I kept doing a lot of online videos and I did this one web series called the Jeanie Tate Show and that kind of got me an agent and then I started auditioning. Funny People was the second movie I ever auditioned for.

MP: Oh, wow. What was the first movie you auditioned for?

AP: I don't remember, didn't get it.

MP: Fair enough, don't look back!

AP: Yeah, some romantic comedy. But [Funny People] was kind of a crazy process because I auditioned for it...I put myself on tape in New York thinking that no one would even watch the tape or care, then Judd watched it and really liked it. Also, the part is weirdly just perfect for me. I think there's only so much you can do as an actor and sometimes it's just like when someone writes a part you're perfect for. So the final part was the stand up and I knew that's what they were looking for...so I took it upon myself to start doing stand-up.

MP: I know Judd Apatow is notorious for just shooting, shooting, shooting tons of footage. How much of you're material ended up on the cutting room floor?

AP: For me, every scene I was in made it. I think I only had one scene in the movie that didn't make it in.

MP: So...they love you.

AP: I guess. Or someone was drunk in the editing room.

MP: Do you have any solo projects coming up?

AP: I'm writing. I'm trying to write my own projects, being that person who's creating their own thing. But I've been busy shooting the show, the thick of season 2. After the show, maybe I'll do another movie.

MP: So next year you've got Scott Pilgrim. Everyone I know is head-over-heels for the books and its one of our most anticipated movies for next year. Have you seen any of it?

AP: Yeah, I've seen twenty minutes of it and...it blew me away.

MP: That's what everyone's been saying, but I'm trying to wrap my mind around what's going to be blowing my mind next year.

AP: I think it's a combination. The DP of the film is Bill Pope who shot The Matrix and Team America, so he's kind of a genius. Him combined with Edgar [Wright], who has a very particular directing style...his other movies are very particular and fast, he's unique. And the comic books are really funny. I don't read comics that often, but these made me laugh out loud. So you've got this really funny comic, plus crazy talented director, and then you have Michael Cera who is one of the funniest people in movies. It's a combination of everything that's good for a movie.

MP: Not a bad combo.

AP: In one scene you have an awkward slacker comedy and in the next two seconds it's a crazy ninja action movie.

MP: Did you get to fight in the movie?

AP: No I didn't have any action scenes. I wish though, the other actors got to do fight training for a month. I just fought with my words.

Funny People is currently out on DVD and Blu-ray while we should be seeing Scott Pilgrim sometime next year!

From:
http://movieblog.ugo.com/movies/aubrey-plaza-interview


Enjoy!